to speak, perchance to be heard

and we’re off!

No, I’m not done packing. I’m taking a brain-break. I’m thinking about what else I’m forgetting. It’s very hot in Israel, but it will probably cool down before I get there. Since it snowed here today, real snow, sticking snow, I’m looking forward to shvitzing. And then I’ll get over it probably pretty fast. But the point is that I don’t need a lot of clothes, since I can get away with packing for summer stuff. I’m taking enough stuff for the kids, which is crazy, since I got heavy-duty clothes for the little one for the winter. It will come soon enough, and it gets cold where they are, so I want to err on the side of savtas and bubbies everywhere. No, I don’t need much, but little tattele does, of course.

I bought new shoes today, plain black flats to replace a pair that have stretched out and don’t support my feet anymore. That’s reasonable, but in the end, I decided not to take them. That’s okay; I can use them when I come back.

A friend of mine who made aliyah in the last few years keeps a wardrobe of her American clothes here, since she needs to travel a lot back to the old country. She would never wear suits, etc, there in Israel, but she is realistic about using them here. I like being able to dress down in Israel. The husband took off his tie after Shabbos and I asked him if he was going to take it with him. “No, we’re going to Israel, remember?”

I remember.

And then someone drops off a package of ties for us to take to their son who just made aliyah. But he doesn’t live in Israel; he lives in Bnei Brak. (Okay, that was a political aside.) But I figure bringing him his ties is like shaliach mitzvah money people give you to get you there, but a little larger. Whatever works, right?